“One of the urban legends about the FE is that the Other Disciplines module is somehow easier to pass,” said Lehmon Dekle, P.E., an exam development engineer at NCEES.

Working with the FE exam development over the past four years, Dekle has heard the notion often. But he says the statistics do not support the theory. In fact, examinees with degrees that fall into the discipline-specific modules typically have higher pass rates when they select the module matching their degree rather than the Other Disciplines module.

All FE examinees take a common module in the morning and one of seven modules in the afternoon, choosing a discipline-specific module (Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Environmental, Industrial, or Mechanical) or the Other Disciplines module. The Other Disciplines module contains questions on topics relevant to most engineering programs.

Average Pass Rates October 2005 to April 2010 Engineering Discipline Discipline-Specific Module* Other Disciplines Module** Chemical 85% 76% Civil 74% 69% Electrical 70% 56% Environmental 79% 74% Industrial 66% 54% Mechanical 81% 81% The above averages are for first-time examinees from ABET-accredited programs. *Average pass rate for all examinees who chose this discipline-specific module **Average pass rate for examinees with degree in this discipline who chose the Other Disciplines module

“In most cases, you should choose the module that best corresponds to your degree. If your degree is not in one of these major engineering disciplines, you should choose the Other Disciplines module,” said Tim Miller, P.E., director of exam services at NCEES.

The pass rates support this advice. For the last 10 exam administrations, the pass rate for first-time examinees taking the Civil module is 5 percent higher than that of civil engineering majors who took the Other Disciplines module. For the Electrical module, there’s a 14 percent difference. The other major disciplines follow this trend, with only mechanical engineering holding at 81 percent for both the Mechanical and Other Disciplines modules.

“The afternoon portion of the FE tests knowledge that’s usually gained in the final two years of an engineering degree, so it makes sense that examinees would perform better on the module corresponding to their specialty,” Miller said.

Dekle pointed to a twofold disadvantage for an examinee not taking the module corresponding to his or her degree. First, the Other Disciplines module may cover topics to which the examinee has had little exposure. For example, electrical engineering majors learn little about engineering mechanics in standard curricula, yet they will encounter the topic on the Other Disciplines module. Secondly, the Other Disciplines module may not cover the topics on which the examinee is most knowledgeable. For civil engineering, transportation is a key area, but the Other Disciplines module does not include items on this topic.

Benefits for program assessment

Higher pass rates may be the key concern for examinees, but there is an added advantage for engineering educators. FE exam results can be used as a tool in assessing aspects of degree program outcomes. Following each exam administration, NCEES produces subject matter reports for ABET-accredited programs that detail student performance on specific topic areas. A program’s reports will be less useful if its students do not take the appropriate afternoon module.

For example, most mechanical engineering departments include coursework on vibrations, and they may want to use the subject matter reports in assessing the effectiveness of this material. But the Other Disciplines module does not include items on vibrations, so a department would not receive any performance data on this topic for its students who took the Other Disciplines module.

“Examinees should choose whichever module they feel best prepared to pass,” said Dekle. “But the stats show better success overall for those who take the module matching their degree, and the performance data available to academic institutions is certainly more meaningful that way.”

The FE exam specifications, which list the topics included in each module, are available at www.ncees.org.